Arrow “Due Process” Review

By Justin Carter

A few weeks ago, I pointed out that the show had yet to allow Felicity a chance of comparison with who she was and who she is now. That’s apparently becoming the point of the flashforwards, albeit at a gradual pace. We learn that at some point Felicity goes bad, takes her dad’s old nickname “the Calculator,” falls into a bad crowd and ultimately ends up being murdered.

It’s quite interesting to see the groundwork for that eventual future get laid out in the present day. I don’t for a second believe that she’s dead in the future — no body, no death — and her slow evolution into a hardass is infinitely more interesting to watch than her solely being intense about getting Diaz. That the show can only seem to convey this on a subtextual level by having her wear all black (complete with a leather jacket!) is hilarious, but it’s a good enough indicator that she’s slipping further into the darkness, just in case putting Anatoly in harm’s way and threatening to arrest him didn’t do it enough. She’s backsliding hard into Dark Felicity territory and it’s interesting to see what role Diaz plays in being her trigger, if he even does wind up being her trigger.

Only through a second rewatch did I really get the point of contrasting Laurel and Felicity’s scenes; a lot of Laurel’s storyline places her in daytime scenes to show her progression (or rather, intention) into being a good person. It’s a completely understandable moment when she lapses and considers killing a judge; everyone’s been refusing to believe her heel turn despite her best efforts to do so, and it’s a well earned moment when she snaps at Oliver towards the end. She’s doing her best despite the odds, and Katie Cassidy is very good at maintaining a level head while wanting to punch everyone in the face.

Next week’s episode, “The Slabside Redemption,” already got a preview which showed Oliver basically fighting his way through the prison in question after Diaz lets everyone loose. It’s sure to be a brutal end to the prison arc, but the biggest pain may come from Oliver’s prison bestie Stanley. It’s not surprising that he’s shady, but the bigger question is why he’s in prison — and who’s side he’s on.

Additional Notes

What is “The Mark of Four?”

Poor Anatoly. He just wanted a drink and a vacation.

One of the weirder moments comes when Team Arrow rips into one another for lack of communication. It’s needed, but maybe reserved for lager in the season?

Definitely look up the photos of Amell and Grant Gustin wearing each other’s costumes in Elseworlds, because they are giving me life.